Trump’s own appointed FBI director going after him because of a law he himself put in place this is 1 of the biggest self-owns
wait, are the deplorable going to be ultra deplorable? Trump has maxed out his base and they’ll turn out for him like always. who cares. It’s the swing votes and centrists that matter. I don’t think that this cohort will be running out to support trump because the FBI seized documents that belonged to the government.
In a lot of ways I agree with you. As a republican I will tend to always prefer the R over the D …I want younger but also politic savvy with field experience and up until the raid I felt comfortable that Trump would sidestep and allow someone else on the Republican side a shot and given that under Biden we have had border security crisis, gas crisis, inflation, supply chain, etc …the swing voters and centrists can’t simply be the dog that sits in the house with fire and state “this is fine” ..swing voters and centrists think differently from you and me - that’s why they swing and do they want more of being told everything is fine when the perception is it certainly isn’t ,…it’s bad enough that many left side voters want someone else to run other then Biden and here we are at the cusp of Trump being motivated to run now after the raid considering Biden’s prospects and perception even from within? … I get preservation of notes and such. A subpoena would seem to be more appropriate I would think and done the same effect and maybe that manner would achieve the same result without prodding him to run again if nothing sticks on him from this .
Mar-a-Lago search appears focused on whether Trump, aides withheld items A lawyer for Donald Trump said agents seized about a dozen boxes on Monday, months after 15 boxes of items were returned https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/09/trump-fbi-search-mar-a-lago/ excerpt: One adviser who spoke to Trump after the search said the former president sounded buoyed by the development, bragging about how many Republicans were supporting him publicly, and said Trump thought the search would help him politically in the end. The adviser spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about a private conversation. Another adviser, former spokesman Jason Miller, said, “It furthers his inclination to run and galvanizes the Republican base on his behalf.” more at the link
WSJ's editorial this morning: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fb...tice-department-11660074118?mod=hp_opin_pos_1 The FBI’s Dangerous Trump Search Merrick Garland is taking the U.S. down a perilous path. By The Editorial Board Updated Aug. 9, 2022 6:30 pm ET Monday’s unannounced Federal Bureau of Investigation search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home isn’t a moment for anyone to cheer. The Justice Department is unleashing political furies it can’t control and may not understand, and the risks for the department and the country are as great as they are for Mr. Trump. As everyone knows by now, an FBI law-enforcement action of this kind against a former American President is unprecedented. Monday’s search needed a judicial warrant in service of probable cause in a criminal probe. The Justice Department has provided few details beyond what has been leaked to reporters, so it is hard to judge what the FBI was looking for. The media leaks say the search is related to potential mishandling of classified documents or violations of the Presidential Records Act. If that is true, then the raid looks like prosecutorial overkill and a bad mistake. Document disputes are typically settled in negotiation, and that is how Mr. Trump’s disagreement with the National Archives had been proceeding. Mr. Trump has already returned 15 boxes of documents, but the National Archives wants to know if the former President retained classified material he shouldn’t have. This is what appears to have triggered the FBI search, but it’s far from clear why this couldn’t be settled cooperatively, or at most with a subpoena. Didn’t someone at Justice point out that a search in this case would draw comparisons to Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information before her 2016 presidential campaign? She was never prosecuted, as Mr. Trump was quick to point out. Unless Mr. Trump’s offense involves a serious risk to national security, half of America may see the Trump search as an example of unequal justice. *** This may not be the full FBI story. Multiple media reports suggest that Justice has opened a grand jury probe into the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and Mr. Trump may be a target of that investigation. The House committee investigating Jan. 6 has been cheering for a prosecution, and the political and media pressure is intense on Attorney General Merrick Garland to indict Mr. Trump. The FBI search may be a fishing expedition to find evidence related to Jan. 6. On the public evidence so far, a Jan. 6 indictment would be a legal stretch. Political responsibility isn’t the same as criminal liability. In our view, the evidence would have to show that Mr. Trump was criminally complicit in that day’s violence at the Capitol. Given its inherently political nature, the burden of proof is especially high for indicting a former President, all the more so for an Administration of the opposition party. The evidence had better be overwhelming—not merely enough to convince a 12-person jury in the District of Columbia, but enough to convince a majority of the American public. Then there is the fraught history between Mr. Trump and the FBI and Justice. The Russia collusion probe was a fiasco of FBI abuse of process and public deception. Current FBI director Christopher Wray was Mr. Trump’s choice to succeed the disastrous James Comey, but the bureau still has a serious credibility problem. That the Mar-a-Lago raid occurred only about 90 days from a national election also increases the political suspicion. Democrats want to keep Mr. Trump front and center in the midterm campaign, which is why the Jan. 6 committee is continuing into the autumn. Anyone who thinks an indictment and trial of Mr. Trump would go smoothly is in for a rude surprise. Millions of his supporters will see this as vindication of his charges against the “deep state,” and who knows how they will respond. Has Mr. Garland considered all of this? *** Worse in the long term is the precedent being set and the payback it is likely to inspire. Once the Rubicon of prosecuting a former President has been crossed—especially if the alleged offense and evidence are less than compelling—every future President will be a target. William Barr, Mr. Trump’s second AG, wisely resisted pressure to indict political actors without a very strong case. The next Republican AG will not be as scrupulous. Democrats may also be wrong in their calculation about how a prosecution would affect Mr. Trump’s future. The FBI search alone makes it more likely that Mr. Trump will run again for President, if only to vindicate himself. He will run as a martyr, and even Republicans who want to turn the page on the former President may be repelled by what they see as a political prosecution. All of this risks compounding the baleful pattern of the last six years. Mr. Trump is accused of violating political norms—sometimes fairly, sometimes not—and the left violates norms in response. Polarization increases, and public faith in institutions and the peaceful settlement of political difference erodes further. The FBI search on Mr. Trump suggests that Mr. Garland may be committed to pursuing and indicting Mr. Trump. If so, he is taking the country on a perilous road. There is much ruin in a nation, but no one should want to test the limits of that ruin in America. Appeared in the August 10, 2022, print edition as 'The FBI’s Dangerous Trump Search'.
Garland needs to come out and tell Americans why he decided to do this, the right will use this to cast trump as a martyr and without knowing why this was needed they will take this as an opportunity to galvanize the nut jobs to show everyone is against trump and therefore against average 6 pack joe American. They cannot drag this out, we need answers and I am sure the DOJ was correct in there reasoning but without facts the right will play this to the fullest............in no way do I think this changes anyone's minds, if you hate trump you hate him more, if you are for him then you will use this as fuel
Yes I don't think this will make much of a difference to most voters. This energizes Trump base which puts other Republicans on guard but I doubt many voters who are concerned about issues like inflation or abortion are going to base their vote on whether they think it was right or wrong that Mara a Lago was searched. Note. This also energizes the very anti-Trump side too and if more comes out it will energize them even more.
I agree with this that the DOJ does need to come out and make a statement. The DOJ has a long standing policy to not comment on active investigations that was famously broken by James Comey. Garland and Wray seem much more cautious than Comey so are likely just following that policy. It would be helpful though for some explanation. Note Trump was given the search warrant and could release that.
This helps the FBIs credibility. It helps the DOJs credibility. They are following the rule of law and not going by politics or fear people will be angry. That's incredible and was in question for quite a while. The more people threaten civil war or engage in violence the easier it will be to remove them from the mix. This isn't good news for Biden and not something he would have wanted at this time. He just passed huge legislation, gas prices are dropping, had sensational employment numbers and could have shining the spotlight on that and building momentum. But at least in the short term this helps Trump. But as is correct they are following the rule of law. They believed they had to act now, likely because Trump has a history of lying about and destroying documents that don't belong to him. Trump at any moment can release the warrant and affadavit. He has chosen not to. The DOJ doing it would be political and they are right to just carry out their business
How is Garland the AG? He needs to play the PR game way better. If the Republicans get power which they look like they will they are going to come after the democrats.
Comey was fired(officially) for doing what everyone is yelling for Wray and Garland to do, Comey explained these same issues as the reasons he chose to come public , nature of investigation, people involved and political positioning. He was called reckless for that .
That idea is in no way consistent with the entire career of MG who is and has been notoriously cautious. As has been pointed out,, politically this doesn't help Biden and in the short term, helps Trump. There is no proof this is political in nature. There are only accusations. This makes sense that this is needed. Trump has lied about documents, there are photos of them being flushed, and the DOJ and FBI had enough to show probable cause Trump had evidence. Neither The WSJ or any other editorial that I've seen has explained why overly cautious MG all of a sudden started needlessly behaving in a reckless and hyper-political manner.
They were coming after the Democrats regardless. I don’t understand this take implying that law enforcement should like hold back and not do their jobs because of how the MAGA base is going to react. These people literally just over a year ago tried to overthrow the 2020 presidential election and our Democracy with it. The Republicans were going to attempt to impeach Biden, Garland, etc. anyways. They don’t live in reality and they crave civil war even though they are mostly cowards who live in and are victims of fear that has poisoned their minds for decades. Garland, the FBI, this judge etc…. Just do the job and make sure you have your facts straight.
I agree with everything you say here. On the other hand the FBI's recent track record is not good. If they have near-certain evidence that the January 6 smoking gun is in one of those twelve boxes, then great! Our long national nightmare is over. If instead the FBI is simply on a fishing expedition and this turns out to be another "let's get Trump" nothing burger, then it could end up backfiring for the administration. Time will tell.
